Posts Tagged ‘Paul Ryan’

The first week of 2016 brought something that I hadn’t expected: President Obama and I are in agreement. Last week, the president previewed his State of the Union Address from the Oval Office saying, “Since I took office seven years ago, in the midst of crisis, I don’t think I’ve ever been more optimistic abut the year ahead.” (odd for him to say considering in January of 2009 he had his vision of change and a Democrat Congress to achieve it, but I guess “yes, we can” was less convincing to him than his followers.) What’s more, we both agree on at least one cause of this optimism: that this is his last year as president.

My other reason for optimism, Paul Ryan’s speakership, is likely not shared by the president. Ryan’s ability to communicate the way in which conservative principles can improve Americans’ daily lives and his Midwestern, earnest and steadfast promise keeping will be refreshing for the Republican base and the House Freedom Caucus. If Speaker Ryan says he will do something, it’s going to happen.

2015 closed with a budget deal that had Rush Limbaugh shrieking the “GOP [sold] America down the river.” In a nutshell, the pundits and many in the Freedom Caucus were frustrated that Ryan didn’t threaten a government shutdown in order to defund Obamacare and Planned Parenthood—two things that won’t happen while Barack Obama is in the White House. Political punditry and showmanship are easy, governing is hard; it requires wisdom and patience, uncommon virtues in Washington. Thankfully for Republicans, Paul Ryan has both.

Upon assuming speakership, Ryan was handed a budget deal that was a fait accompli. He had two options: blow the deal up, shutdown the government, and start the 2016 Election Year in turmoil; or snatch a few important victories within the deal and start 2016 with a clean slate on which to write a clear, conservative vision for the country. Paul Ryan withstood pressure from the “politics-over-governance crew” and chose the latter.

The budget deal permanently removed the ban on oil exports, strengthening our position in dealing with the Middle East and Russia while boosting our economy at home; prevented the sequester from hitting the military so that our beleaguered forces get the resources they need in this dangerous world; and protected free speech by preventing the IRS from transforming abusive tactics into sanctioned policies. The IRS provision alone was worth the price, because we can undo spending in the future easier than re-instating First Amendment rights taken away. Not bad for an admittedly crappy bill.

Then, in the first week of the New Year, Paul Ryan did exactly what he promised, sending to Obama’s desk a bill that defunds Obamacare and Planned Parenthood. Of course, the president vetoed it, but the public discussion will be about the issues presented in the bill, rather than inside-the-beltway gridlock and bickering. Moreover, passage of the bill shows the American people that Republicans are capable of governing.

As the year continues, with Speaker Paul Ryan’s help, Americans will realize that “a more prosperous, a more secure, and a more confident America is possible.”

Paul Ryan introduced himself to America on Wednesday night and he was funny, substantive, serious, sharp and real. He was human.While he is not seasoned on the teleprompter, his speech was among the most substantive of Vice Presidential nomination speeches ever delivered. He proved that he is ready for primetime and the face of the future for the Republican Party.

His direct challenge to Obama on the debate over Medicare was spot on. He made it clear that the Romney/Ryan campaign will own their vision to protect current Medicare recipients and secure the future of the program for younger generations.

Liberal commentators have been celebrating Romney’s pick of Paul Ryan as his running mate. They think that being able to run against Romney by attacking the “right wing” plan proposed by Ryan.

The centerpiece of their attack will be their claim that Ryan’s plan “ends Medicare as we know it.” What they fail to recognize is that the passage of the President’s health care bill already ended Medicare as we know it because it cut $700 billion from Medicare to pay for new government programs and will ration future care through the 15 unelected members of the IPAB (Independent Payment Advisory Board) which is the function in which President Obama’s health care guru, Don Berwick said, “The decision is not whether or not we will ration care–the decision is whether we will ration with our eyes open.”

Here are the facts. Ryan’s reform of Medicare doesn’t even affect any one 55 years old or older. And for those that are 54 years old and younger, when they reach eligibility age, they will have a choice of traditional Medicare or the new program, which is modeled after the prescription drug benefit in which insurance companies compete for your business.

The bottom line is that current seniors are not affected by Ryan’s plan and future seniors have a choice. By contrast, current seniors are already being hurt by Obama’s health care bill because many are losing Medicare Advantage and premiums are going up.

So, the Left can do their happy dance, but the American people, particularly seniors, are well informed and will see through the demagoguery.

[UPDATE]

Avik Roy over at Forbes does a much better job than I do to explain why, as he calls it, the “mediscare” attacks won’t work. Full piece here and a couple good excerpts below:

The Obama campaign, upon learning of the Paul Ryan pick, went straight for the jugular. Ryan’s plan “would end Medicare as we know it by turning it into a voucher system, shifting thousands of dollars in health care costs to seniors,” said Obama spokesman Jim Messina this morning. But that’s not true.

As we’ve documented extensively at The Apothecary, the Wyden-Ryan Medicare plan—so named because it was coauthored by progressive Sen. Ron Wyden (D., Ore.)—only applies to Americans younger than 55 years of age, and gives those younger individuals the option of remaining in the traditional Medicare program, or choosing a comparable private-sector insurance plan.

The policy-wonk term for this approach is “competitive bidding,” an idea that originated with Democrats. The Wyden-Ryan plan is nearly identical to one that was introduced a few weeks earlier by Mitt Romney.

The bottom line: if Romney and Ryan leave you the option to remain in the 1965-vintage, fee-for-service, traditional Medicare program, and you claim that Medicare has “ended as we know it,” what you’ve really ended is the English language as we know it.

Robert Costa from National Review is reporting that a charter flight from Boston ended up in Janesville, WI today. That’s the current home of Representative Paul Ryan.

Here is the whole post:

Take note, veep watchers: Earlier today, a charter plane took off in Boston, stopped in Chicago, then flew to the tiny airport in Janesville, Wis. Janesville, of course, is the hometown of Representative Paul Ryan, a top vice-presidential contender. According to a source on the ground, the plane is still in Wisconsin.

Tomorrow morning, Mitt Romney will visit theUSS Wisconsin in Norfolk, Va. For what it’s worth, Ryan is scheduled to be on vacation in Colorado.

You can track unusual charter flights at FlightAware, a useful website.

Since I wrote the Case for Paul Ryan post, I have whipped myself into a blind frenzy that Romney really must pick Paul Ryan and hoping that he will pick Paul Ryan.

I don’t know whether Romney will pick Ryan, but it really makes a ton of sense from both a policy standpoint and a political standpoint.

First, let’s think about the long-term reasons to pick Ryan. The most pressing issue facing our country is the out of control spending and ever increasing debt – coupled with the entitlement disaster as more and more baby boomers retire.

When Obama talks about voters facing a big choice in November, he is right. But he has punted on the big choices, never taking serious the looming fiscal crisis. This the guy who promised he would cut the deficit in half in his first term and yet pushed an $800 billion stimulus bill and what will turn out to be a nearly $2 trillion health care bill. This, among other things, has led to our national debt going from $10 trillion when Obama took office to $15.9 trillion today.

The remedy? Paul Ryan. He thinks big. He has vision. He has real answers to the problems.

And guess what? What makes Paul Ryan the right pick from a policy standpoint is exactly what makes him the right pick politically. In tough economic times, with government spending off the charts, a health care law that injects bureaucrats in between doctors and their patients, and systemic corruption within the administration and their cronies on Wall Street and green energy, the cure is the simple plan Paul Ryan has laid out. Simplify the tax code, reduce spending and provide choice in Medicare.

Paul Ryan should be Mitt Romney’s choice for Vice President. He is smart, energetic, attractive, clean background, and knows how to campaign to swing voters. His current Congressional district is largely blue collar union members in Wisconsin.

Ryan would immediately inject some enthusiasm among the base of the party since he is a solid conservative. It will also inject some message discipline because Ryan is one of the best communicators in the GOP.

The most important reason to pick Ryan is that if the Democrats are going to attack Romney for the “Ryan budget,” who better to argue that issue than the author himself? Make no mistake, the Democrats are going to tie Romney to Ryan’s budget regardless of whether he’s on the ticket.

Another asset Ryan brings to the ticket is the “real person” element. He is a very personable and engaging guy who can talk to real people about anything. He does regular town halls, dealing with real people day in and day out.

Oh, and Ryan on the ticket would probably deliver Wisconsin to the Republican column in the Electoral College – something that hasn’t happened since Reagan.

Budget wunderkind Paul Ryan has endorsed Mitt Romney for President. With this get, Romney has picked up the endorsement of the two top rising stars in the Republican Party – Ryan and Marco Rubio.

Ryan’s endorsement demonstrates that the conservative intellectual wing of the GOP is now firmly ensconced with Romney.

Tuesday’s primary elections in Wisconsin (Ryan’s home state), Maryland and D.C. will likely be the end of Gingrich’s campaign and should, for all intents and purposes, be the end of Santorum’s campaign.

U.S. House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan is the most serious person in Washington when it comes to taking on the real challenges of government spending and debt. Washington Democrats will howl at the budget he releases today, which should be proof enough that it is something we need.

Here is a great video introduction of Paul Ryan’s Path to Prosperity Budget.

Recently, TIME named Ryan a person of the year runner-up. In the piece, titled “The Prophet,” David Von Drehle writes, “it was Ryan who brought President Obama down from his cloud of happy talk about windmills and high-speed trains to acknowledge that America has a plateful of peas to choke down after its binge at the dessert bar.” Finishing, “what Ryan had this year was the courage to look the future in the eye. It is a seer’s work to glimpse around the corner and sound the alarm.”

So, why did TIME and Politifact, not exactly bastions of conservative thought, feel so magnanimous towards the gentleman from Wisconsin?

The left is rewarding Ryan because he’s not running for president. Liberals everywhere breathed a collective sigh of relief in August when Ryan announced that he would not enter the race. Ryan is likeable, he’s principled, and he’s smart without being condescending–Gingrich and Obama should take lessons. Most importantly, Ryan can discuss the complex policy issues confronting our nation in forthright language that neither oversimplifies nor understates the gravity of the situation. After watching the circus that is the GOP primary race, the left is so thankful to Ryan for staying in his Budget Committee Chairman box, rather than posing the most legitimate threat to Obama, that they will even go so far as to validate some of his positions.

Can someone please ask Paul Ryan one more time if he’s a hard no on a presidential bid?